The NBA 2011/12 season is in full swing, and so far there have been quite a number of surprises, with regards to the top teams in the league. So without further ado, here’s my Top 5 Power Rankings for Week 3.
#1: San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs have started the season off hotter than ever, currently undefeated through the first 3 weeks, it’s evident that Coach Popavich has found the right mix of players for this veteran squad. The biggest contributor to their record has to got be the resurgence of the Spurs defense that’s leading the league and allowing an astonishing 0 points per game so far this season. Considering their defense last year had problems stopping teams, especially ones with size (i.e. Dallas, LA, and Memphis), this has been quite the turnaround. If they can keep it up, I don’t see how anyone expects to beat them, it’s simple math: if no one is scoring points on you, you’re likely going to win more games than you’ll lose.
#2: Washington Wizards
Here’s a team no one expected to be ranked #2 in anything, but believe it folks the Wizards might be for real. This young team is looking very strong, sitting atop the Eastern Conference we’ll see if they can keep this pace up all year. The most surprising development is the improvement of John Wall who hasn’t committed a turnover since last season, a big deal for a guy who averaged 3.8 turnovers in his rookie season. This will be a team to watch for the rest of the season.
#3: Dallas Mavericks
The only thing that needs to be said is Dirk McGirk. The man is a beast, plain and simple, he has yet to miss a field goal and I’d say is an early candidate for league MVP. The only surprise from Maverick-land is the fact that Jason Terry has yet to log a minute in a game this season. For a guy who played a big part in the championship run last season, he must’ve really fallen out of favor with the Mavericks coaching staff. Though when asked about it Mavericks Coach, and part-time Jim Carrey impersonator, Rick Carlisle denied that Terry was in the doghouse saying, “It’s a lockout you idiot, no one has logged an NBA minute”. Sounds like a copout to me.
#4: Los Angeles Lakers
It should be no surprise that the Lakers are in the top 5 considering they have 3 all-star caliber players in Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace (aka Ron Artest) and Pau Gasol. Not to mention sixth man award winner (and Guinness World Record holder for longest marriage to a Kardashian) Lamar Odom coming off the bench. But what is surprising about this Lakers team is that they haven’t missed a free throw this season—a mind-blowing stat for just one player, and even more impressive for an entire team.
#5: Miami Heat
The defending Eastern Conference champions are off to a solid start, largely due to the defensive play of Chris Bosh who’s tied for the league lead in blocks and rebounds. Dwyane Wade continues to be consistent, at the top of the NBA stat chart tied for scoring, steals and minutes. Lebron James, while one of the league leaders in steals and 3-pt percentage, seems unable to overcome his propensity to falter at key times in games failing to even record a stat in the 4th quarter of any game this season. As long as Bosh and Wade continue to play well I guess it wont matter, but one can only wonder how long it’ll be before Lebron’s 4th quarter disappearing act becomes a bigger issue than it currently is.
Exciting photo from, yet another, high-flying NBA season.
So there you have it, my top 5 teams in the NBA as of right now. So far we’ve got a defense that’s allowed 0 points, multiple players yet to miss a shot and an entire team without a missed Free Throw. Truly unprecedented stats at any level of the sport, buy even more so for the professional game where competition level is so much higher. It’s almost like the other teams aren’t even showing up.
